Somewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area, a man who once made World Cup history in 10.8 seconds is watching the 2026 tournament from a couch. Not a VIP box. Not a commentary booth. A couch.
Hakan Şükür, Turkey’s greatest goalscorer, has been living in exile in the United States since roughly 2017. His crime, in the eyes of the Turkish government, wasn’t match-fixing or doping. It was politics.
From national hero to erased man
In the 2002 World Cup third-place match against South Korea, Şükür scored just 10.8 seconds after kickoff. That record still stands. It is, by a comfortable margin, the fastest goal in FIFA World Cup history.
Şükür’s relationship with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan curdled badly. The footballer was accused of ties to the Fethullah Gülen movement, the organization Ankara blames for the failed 2016 coup attempt. Şükür has faced charges of insulting Erdoğan, and the consequences were swift and comprehensive.
